Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

My journey to try to detox because of multiple chemical sensitivity has taken a slight turn. It seems the intestinal repair the naturopathic doctor recommended caused stomach problems. With my many other ailments, I have GERD and it was getting very bad. I stopped the repair complex.

It’s funny how these alternative doctors think nothing of having you spend money. But, I must say some of them can be very helpful.

I haven’t gone back to the naturopathic doctor yet. I went to see an nutritionist instead. She wants me to stick to the blood test results diet, and then after a month or two start reintroducing foods I am mildly intolerant of. This is an elimination diet.

The problem I’m having lately is a tightness and lump in my throat. I’m assuming it’s gastro related. I’m using Zegerid for almost two weeks now and my GERD is better, but the tightness on my throat still happens.

I guess I’ll have to see an ENT. The throat problem can stem from one of three things: multiple sclerosis, an allergic reaction, and GERD. Well, actually there is a 4th possibility, a hiatal hernia. It’s very important to find out which is the cause.

Oh, I just bought a book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Detoxing Your Body by Delia Quigley. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but when I do, I’ll let you know how it is.

Until next time,
Karen Cioffi

I know it’s been a while, and I apologize. I’ve taken on a writing gig that is hording in on my other writing time. And, I presented a free one-day workshop for beginner children’s writers on May 1st. Preparation for that was also a time drainer.

Okay, on to my topic. I think in one of my past posts I mentioned that I’m becoming more and more allergic to antibiotics . . . to the point where I’m concerned. So, I thought it was time to detox my body . . . even my allergist thought it would be a good idea.

I let my fingers do the walking and I found a licensed naturopathic doctor who has office hours once a week not far from my neighborhood. I made an appointment over a month ago and she felt it would be a good idea to get special blood work to determine how many foods I’m allergic to.

The idea is if you’re allergic to foods that you eat regularly, you are constantly bombarding your body with substances it views as foreign and invading. It will react with an immune system response. In addition to this, usually when you have chronic and severe GERD, it is representative of leaky gut syndrome.

Well, I got the results of my blood work last week and I’m allergic to foods I eat everyday. The results are broken down into Severe Intolerance, Moderate Intolerance and Mild Intolerance. They test for 100 foods.

It turns out I am highly intolerant to clams, ginger, garlic, turkey, sweet potato–the last three I use to eat regularly. And, there are many more foods I’m intolerant to than foods I am tolerant of. So, diet changes have been made.

I’m moderately intolerant to soy. I try to avoid cow’s milk because of congestion problems and used soy everyday. Who knew.

One problem starting off with this is they test you for 100 foods, but you have no idea if you can eat foods beyond those 100 tested for.

I happen to be intolerant to every spice I use and that is used when eating out: garlic, oregano, parsley, and basil. I am also intolerant to soy and corn–have you read any food labels lately. Even many breads have soy protein in them or use soy flour. And, corn is like air now, it’s everywhere and in everything.

This will be an interesting journey. I have started an intestinal repair complex and use live acidophilus.

The good news so far is I’ve lost 6 pounds!

I will try to keep this blog updated once a week, or at the very most 10 days.

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For more reading check out:

Engineered Poison Lurking in Your Everyday Food?

Until next time,

Karen Cioffi

http://karencioffi.com

http://dkvwriting4u.com

Genetically modified (GM) crops have become a horror for those suffering with allergies and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).

Allergies and MCS are a result of our immune systems becoming over stimulated and our livers not being able to process and eliminate all the toxins that we are bombarded with.

But, the powers that be are only concerned with the might dollar and profits–harmful side effects for the masses does not fit into the equation.

In an article at Mercola.com the effects of GM foods are frightening:

In the only human feeding study ever published on genetically modified foods, seven volunteers ate so-called Roundup-ready soybeans. These are soybeans that have herbicide-resistant genes inserted into them in order to survive being sprayed with otherwise deadly doses of Roundup herbicide.

In three of the seven volunteers, the gene inserted into the soy transferred into the DNA of their intestinal bacteria, and continued to function long after they stopped eating the GM soy!

No one is sure of the possible long term effects of genetically modifying foods, but this doesn’t stop the process from being done .

According to the same article:

About 85 percent of the corn grown corn grown is genetically engineered to either produce an insecticide, or to survive the application of herbicide. And about 91-93 percent of all soybeans are genetically engineered to survive massive doses of Roundup herbicide.

So, what this means is that almost any food product you buy that has corn or soy will most likely have the GM form in it. And, we’re not just talking about corn and soy, we’re talking about all their derivatives such as high fructose corn syrup.

But, these aren’t the only foods that are genetically modified there is also cottonseed and canola to name two.

I try hard to buy organic foods, but I if I’m not mistaken, when you buy a food labeled organic it means the product has to be at least 70% organic and not include sewer sludge.

What a world!

Until next time,

Karen Cioffi

http://karencioffi.com

Well, I know I haven’t posted in a while…I’ve been fighting a sinus and ear infection.

Yeah…that might be a simple thing for most people, but when you have MCS, it can become dangerous.

One of the last antibiotic families I could use was Eyrthamycin (probably spelled that wrong, but I’m really not concern about spelling right now).

I became allergic to Penicillin and Tetracycline years ago. Then within the last couple of years Levaquin and Avelox affect the Multiple Sclerosis so I was told not to use them any longer.

Now, Biaxin, which always worked on my sinus infections, isn’t safe for me. I’ve developed a skin allergy to it. So, I was put on Zithromax. Unfortunately, it isn’t working on the infection.

So, what’s left? Sulfur?

I also have reactions to prednisone and cortisone…

People don’t realize just how disabling and dangerous MCS is. It is life altering like any other chronic illness, and it can limit your life much more than other illnesses. I had to stop using my gas oven years ago, because it affected my asthma. I can’t be in rooms or offices that use cleaners such as Fabreze. Perfumes, fabric softners, scented anythings, are out. Photocopiers, chlorine, and other chemical smells can send me into a stupor (severy brain fog) and asthma attack as well as sick to my stomach.

Traveling is another problem. If I plan on sleeping in a hotel, I have to make sure they understand what scent free means. Traveling on any mass trans is not worth the potential problems.

But, those are just annoyances…being allergic to antibiotics is life threatening. And, having to worry if I end up in a hospital that they don’t accidentally kill me by giving me a medication/drug I am allergic to or have a severe sensitivity to, is another problem.

With the many illnesses I have, including two aneurysms, it seems the MCS is the most dangerous.

Sorry, I vented, but I did want to explain why I haven’t been posting regularly.

I’m praying my doctors can figure something out tomorrow.

When I’m feeling better I will start posting about MCS in addition to the other topics on this site.

I wish you all a healthy, peaceful, and successful new year!

Karen